"Is this your dreadful lair?" Lucy asked with interest, as she and Eden arrived at a little playhouse among a thicket of willow bushes. "Where you were going to hold me?"

"Sorry? Oh yes," Eden said vaguely. "When we were playing bandits. Yes, this is where I was going to hold you captive while I waited for the ransom."

"I think it's absolutely lovely," Lucy said in delight, for the willows had been bound together to form a green, living dome which continued to grow. "It's like a dear little home for elves or pixies to live in." She took several dancing steps around it, in order to see the playhouse from all sides.

"Well, don't start skipping around the fairy dell," Eden muttered in a sort of gratified embarrassment. "Father helped me build it."

The playhouse had a proper door, painted inexpertly but vividly red, which looked as if it might have once been on a hen house. There were no hinges on the door, so that to open it, Eden had to pick it up and drag it across, revealing a low entry, rather smaller than the door.

Lucy stooped down a little as she followed Eden in. The little house was cool and dim, with a greenish-grey light filtering in through the willow leaves and branches. It felt as if they had left the outside world, and had entered into a place that was completely quiet, still, and private.

"I wouldn't mind being held here," Lucy said approvingly, as she looked around.

"What?" Eden said, startled.

"You know, while I was being kidnapped," Lucy said. "Have you got any rope?"

"Yes, there's loads in the boathouse," Eden said. "What do you want it for?"

"I thought perhaps you could tie me up," Lucy explained. "Then I could escape my cruel captivity by wriggling free from the knots."

Eden snorted. "Good luck escaping from my knots," she said. "Anyway, we're not playing bandits now. We're getting changed."

She rummaged in an old iron-bound chest and brought out some trousers and shirts, tossing some to Lucy while saying, "Here, try these."

The chest had been filled with heather and bracken to protect the clothes, but they nonetheless had a slightly musty smell. Lucy thought Nurse May would have a fit if she knew Lucy was wearing old clothes that had been stored under willow bushes by a lake, and this made her smile.

Lucy stripped off her outer clothes and pulled on a pair of blue canvas breeches that went just past her knees, and a loose unbleached linen shirt. The buttons were hard to do up, because they went the wrong way around.

"Yes, that will do," Eden said, after watching her get dressed. However, she turned out to be unexpectedly shy about getting undressed herself, and made Lucy turn away while she changed.

"We're both girls," Lucy objected, but Eden insisted that Lucy not look, a request which she very honourably complied with, although thinking Eden was being very silly.

"Ready now," Eden said after a few minutes.

Lucy turned around to see Eden was pulling on an old black jacket that was much too big for her. Eden tied her hair back with the leather thong again, which must have been in the pocket. She gave a spare one to Lucy, but Lucy had the sort of fine flyaway curly hair that doesn't take well to being tied down, and disappears like smoke once it is.

Lucy tried not to be gloomy about feeling almost as bald as King Meriadoc as she followed Eden out of the willow house and back to where the boat had been pulled up on the shore. She thought Eden would immediately want to push the boat back into the lake, but to her surprise, Eden made no attempt to turn Boudicca over, but put one foot up on her, and shoved a hand into her jacket pocket, like someone preparing to make a speech.

"I have to make a few things clear before you get in a boat again," Eden said, after clearing her throat a few times.

"Like what?" Lucy asked.

"Every ship has a captain, and I'm the captain of the Boudicca," Eden replied. "You must ask my permission before you do anything on her. You should have asked for permission to change seats before, and I would have said no."

"I didn't know that," Lucy pointed out.

"I know, and look what happened," said Eden feelingly. "I should have said all this at the start, and I didn't ask if you could swim."

"That's not your fault," Lucy said.

Eden waved a hand in dismissal. "It's nothing to do with laying blame. We just need to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"It won't," Lucy promised. "I know not to try to change seats like that again."

"It's not just that, you need to always ask for anything you want once we're on the boat," Eden said. "You must say, Permission to do whatever it is, captain, and I'll say, Permission granted or Permission denied."

"Alright," Lucy agreed. "Let's get in the boat, and you can teach me to row."

She looked expectantly at Eden, who didn't move. "What did I just tell you, Lucy? You ask permission first."

"We're not in the boat yet", Lucy said.

"Anything to do with the boat, you must ask my permission," Eden said. "She's my ship and I'm her captain."

"Do you call Boudicca she and her because it's got a girl's name?" Lucy wanted to know.

"No, all boats are called she," Eden replied.

"Why are boats always female?" Lucy wanted to know.

"Because they're honest and trusty and won't stand for any nonsense," said Eden promptly. "And neither will I. So crew – prepare to launch ship."

"Yes, Eden," Lucy said, moving eagerly towards the Boudicca.

"That's landlubber talk," said Eden impatiently. "When I give an order, you reply with Aye aye, captain."

"Aye aye, captain!" cried Lucy obediently.

She put her hand to her forehead in a smart salute that she hoped looked nautical. It didn't, but Eden smiled as if she didn't mind.